Starfield seems to have major accessibility issues

The reviews started pouring in starfield, Bethesda’s highly anticipated and allegedly massive space RPG, will be released worldwide on September 6. And while the reviews are mostly positive, and reports suggest this may be Bethesda’s lowest-profile release yet, one content creator has pointed out a major factor the exclusivity has with Xbox and PC: accessibility.

Steve Saylor, content creator and accessibility consultant who has worked with studios like Naughty Dog, Ubisoft, and Raven Software. published a starfield YouTube accessibility reviewHe called it “extremely disappointing”. “Little did I know when Todd Howard on @KindaFunnyVids said they were going to have a big font mode and that’s all they had,” Saylor tweeted.

starfieldAccessibility issues

“If people are hoping that space will be accessible, it’s not,” he says in the 13-and-a-half-minute video. “I wish I could say this would be Bethesda’s first hit, but it’s not. Unfortunately, it’s not even close.” Saylor’s video then shows the Accessibility tab in starfieldSettings menu, the four options available: general subtitles, dialogue subtitles, toggle iron sights, and large menu lines, which can simply be turned on or off.

Read more: Microsoft’s new software could help developers make games more accessible
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Big font mode is a very important feature, because there are so many Starfield Relies on navigating text-heavy menus. “For the majority of in-game menus — and there are a lot of them — the text isn’t perfect, but it’s manageable,” said Saylor, who is legally blind, before citing the expanded text’s lack of more customization options as another problem.

But the lack of font customization is the most egregious when it comes to subtitles. There is no ability for players to change the font type, color, or background opacity of the subtitles, since then Starfield He uses a stylized, computer-generated font all the time, and Saylor worries that might be a problem for people with dyslexia. “If you’re not happy with the default, you’re out of luck,” he said. The biggest issue is contrast, as there’s very little contrast throughout the in-game menus and HUD, and because text is white, it can often get lost on light-colored planets or even in bright parts of space (though). Starfield Switch the line to blue when you are in your spaceship).

The Xbox Series X and S version offer some degree of button remapping that could help players with mobility impairments, but it’s unclear how well this will work on PC. Saylor notes that Starfield It has a small set of “fair” accessibility features that don’t require customization, such as a center point that helps with motion sickness and high-contrast visuals when using the in-game scanner. But the overall offering pales in comparison to blockbuster games like The Last of Us Part Twowhich has about 60 different accessibility options including high contrast mode, zoom feature, text-to-speech options, and customizable translations.

Read more: A new database helps players find games with accessibility features

Despite all of this, Saylor makes sure to point out that he’s still in love Starfield (praising the “fantastic soundtrack” and the “interesting” cast), W.J Shows Xbox’s inaccessibility shouldn’t be to blame —Microsoft has made accessibility a cornerstone of its gaming business in recent years– But on Bethesda.

“Some people might think mods will help with accessibility, and yes, mods have helped Bethesda games in the past. But that’s not the best way to get around accessibility,” Saylor said. Kotaku Via X (formerly Twitter) DM. “Just because if Bethesda releases a patch or update, that mod could get broken, and it’s up to the modder to want to go in and fix it. Which can take time and there’s no guarantee it will get done. I wanted to add that to my review, but I didn’t have time.

It is unclear whether the future Starfield Updates will add more accessibility options, but with Bethesda now under the Xbox umbrella, you’re sure to hope so. Starfield divorce for Xbox and PC on September 1 for players who purchased the Special Edition, and September 6 for everyone.